Scottish Executive

Airports

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-19401 by Lewis Macdonald on 26 November 2001, who the principal shareholders of Inverness Air Terminal Ltd are and what lease rentals and concessions provide income to Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd.

Lewis Macdonald: The shareholder of Inverness Air Terminal Limited is Noble PFI Fund Limited.

  The lease rentals that provide income to Highlands & Islands Airports Ltd at Inverness Airport are those relating to airline offices and check-in and concourse areas. No concessions provide income to Highlands & Islands Airports Ltd at Inverness Airport.

Airports

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-19401 by Lewis Macdonald on 26 November 2001, whether the Private Finance Initiative contract relating to the new terminal at Inverness, or any other contract, requires Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd to charge a minimum landing charge per passenger at Inverness and, if so, what that charge is.

Lewis Macdonald: Neither the Private Finance Initiative nor any other contract requires Highlands & Islands Airports Ltd to charge a minimum landing charge per passenger at Inverness Airport.

Airports

Mr David Davidson (North-East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with Her Majesty’s Government on facilitating competitive landing fees at Scottish Airports.

Lewis Macdonald: The Scottish Executive has had no recent discussions with the UK Government about landing fees at Scottish airports.

Central Heating

Dorothy-Grace Elder (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) council-owned and (b) private houses occupied by pensioners have had heating installed under its free central heating programme.

Iain Gray: Eaga have installed 300 systems and surveyed another 1,100 houses. They will have central heating shortly and by 31 March a total of 3,500 owners and private renters will have benefited from the programme. We do not yet have figures for the number of council houses but most authorities tell us they are currently on target to improve a total of 5,000 across Scotland by 31 March.

Defence

Colin Campbell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-18215 by Ms Wendy Alexander on 1 October 2001 and with reference to parliamentary question 12187 answered by Her Majesty’s Government on 12 November 2001, what consultations it has had with Her Majesty’s Government as to what areas are covered by confidentiality and what the reasons are for any difference in policy between it and Her Majesty’s Government on this matter.

Ms Wendy Alexander: The Scottish Executive has a good relationship with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the sharing of information between us is frequent. We received advice from the MoD on the answer given to the Scottish Executive question on 1 October. I am advised that the MoD considered the precise terms of the question that was answered by Her Majesty’s Government on 12 November and decided that a more detailed answer could be given. There is no difference in policy between the Scottish Executive and the MoD on this matter.

Education

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre the 5-14 school-by-school attainment information given to schools for inclusion in their individual school handbooks and what the reasons are for the position on this matter.

Nicol Stephen: The Scottish Executive does not publish school-by-school 5-14 Attainment Level information. The information would not give valid school by school comparisons.

  The Scottish Executive does, however, publish 5-14 Attainment Level information by subject, stage and local authority.

Emergency Planning

Colin Campbell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-19730 by Iain Gray on 20 November 2000, how much has been allocated to each council for emergency planning through the Grant Aided Expenditure process in the current financial year.

Dr Richard Simpson: The table shows the amount allocated to each local authority under the Civil Protection element of the Grant Aided Expenditure (GAE) assessment.

  Civil Protection

  


Local Authority 
  

GAE 2001-02 (£000) 




Aberdeen City 
  

161 
  



Aberdeenshire 
  

150 
  



Angus 
  

97 
  



Argyll & Bute 
  

86 
  



Clackmannanshire 
  

67 
  



Dumfries & Galloway 
  

96 
  



Dundee City 
  

140 
  



East Ayrshire 
  

104 
  



East Dunbartonshire 
  

82 
  



East Lothian 
  

76 
  



East Renfrewshire 
  

76 
  



Edinburgh, City of 
  

163 
  



Eilean Siar 
  

89 
  



Falkirk 
  

114 
  



Fife 
  

190 
  



Glasgow City 
  

249 
  



Highland 
  

144 
  



Inverclyde 
  

76 
  



Midlothian 
  

74 
  



Moray 
  

77 
  



North Ayrshire 
  

99 
  



North Lanarkshire 
  

133 
  



Orkney Islands 
  

71 
  



Perth & Kinross 
  

91 
  



Renfrewshire 
  

99 
  



Scottish Borders 
  

80 
  



Shetland Islands 
  

61 
  



South Ayrshire 
  

90 
  



South Lanarkshire 
  

143 
  



Stirling 
  

77 
  



West Dunbartonshire 
  

78 
  



West Lothian 
  

96 
  



Scotland 
  

3,429

Emergency Planning

Colin Campbell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which local authorities have requested additional funds for emergency planning since 11 September 2001.

Dr Richard Simpson: No local authorities have requested additional funds for emergency planning following the events on 11 September 2001.

Emergency Planning

Colin Campbell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what exercises it has carried out which involve planning for two or more coincident major disasters and what these coincident disasters were.

Dr Richard Simpson: The Scottish Executive does not itself plan or carry out any emergency exercises. This is undertaken by the full range of emergency services, utilities, operators of sites subject to the Control of Major Accident Hazard Regulations and other agencies, usually through the auspices of one of eight strategic groups across Scotland. Most exercises focus on one specific incident in order to ensure clarity of objectives and targets but occasionally these have featured another incident to test resourcing, prioritisation, management and other related issues.

Emergency Planning

Colin Campbell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, as part of its emergency planning responsibilities, what consultations it has had with the Ministry of Defence on the security of key installations in Scotland.

Dr Richard Simpson: The protective security of key installations in Scotland is a matter for the UK Government departments with lead policy responsibility for these. Contacts between the Scottish Executive and these departments on emergency planning policy relates to planning for the consequences of incidents not to security issues.

Emergency Planning

Colin Campbell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what scale of emergency, or coincident emergencies, would oblige it to seek help from outwith Scotland.

Dr Richard Simpson: Any requirement to seek help from agencies outwith Scotland would not be solely based on the scale of the emergency or coincident emergencies. It might equally be for specific resources or expertise to augment limited resources in any aspect of an emergency. There are standing mutual aid arrangements in place across all the emergency agencies both within Scotland and the UK which have been utilised on several occasions in recent years.

Emergency Planning

Colin Campbell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, with reference to the military/civilian nuclear exercise at Rosyth/Glenrothes on 10 October 2001, (a) how successful the exercise was, (b) what kind of incident it was predicated upon, (c) what organisations took part and (d) how many people from each organisation were involved.

Dr Richard Simpson: The conduct of the exercise and the lessons learned are still under review by the various organisations which participated. It is, however, possible to reply now from the perspective of the Scottish Executive.

  (a) The exercise was seen to be of value in that a number of new as well as experienced staff from across the Executive were involved at the off-site centre and in the Scottish Executive’s Emergency Room and that lessons were learned which will improve practice in future.

  (b) The exercise postulated a fire on a nuclear submarine which was contained within the hull and did not result in a release into the atmosphere.

  (c) Scottish Executive emergency planning staff from Justice, Health, Energy, Agriculture along with staff from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and the Food Standards Agency took part.

  (d) Approximately 15-20 staff from the Scottish Executive participated at some time during the exercise.

Ferry Services

George Lyon (Argyll and Bute) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how much the latest feasibility study conducted by Steer Davies Gleave into the Campbeltown to Ballycastle ferry route cost.

Ms Wendy Alexander: The Scotland Office, in consultation with the Scottish Executive and the Northern Ireland Executive, commissioned Steer Davies Gleave to assess the costs and benefits of re-introducing a ferry service between Campbeltown and Ballycastle and to carry out a full transport appraisal. The fee paid for this study was £18,600.

Fisheries

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive who represented it at the most recent EU Fisheries Council Meeting and what the outcome was.

Ross Finnie: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-20681 on 6 December 2001.

Fisheries

Mr Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has assessed the impact for the year 2000 of the economic link measures introduced for the fisheries sector on 1 January 1999.

Ross Finnie: From 1 January 1999 all British registered fishing vessels over 10 metres in length and catching more than two tonnes of quota stocks have had to demonstrate an economic link with fisheries-dependent communities in the United Kingdom. This link can be demonstrated in a number of ways, for example by vessels landing at least 50% by weight of their quota catch into the UK or by employing a crew of whom at least 50% are normally resident in a UK coastal area.

  In 2000, 1,627 vessels caught more than two tonnes of quota stocks and in each case achieved a satisfactory economic link, primarily through landings into the UK. The economic link arrangements have maintained the increases in UK landings and expenditure achieved by foreign-owned UK-registered vessels in 1999. In addition, almost 400 tonnes of quota was made available for re-distribution to the UK fleet.

  A full report by the Fisheries Departments in the United Kingdom on the operation of the economic link measures and their impact in 2000 has been placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre.

Football

Bristow Muldoon (Livingston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what support is being offered to Scottish football clubs aiming to establish football academies.

Mike Watson: The Executive fully supports the development of football academies in Scotland .  To assist this,  sportscotland has established a Scottish Football Academy strand within the Sports Facilities Programme of the Lottery Sports Fund. A budget of £6 million has been allocated for the period to 31 March 2003 and each eligible project can attract up to £1 million.  sportscotland also provides advice and guidance to potential applicants.

  In addition to this the newly established Scottish Football Partnership has also committed over £1.5 million to supporting the development of football academies. Each eligible project can attract funding of up to £300,000.

Health

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it next intends to meet representatives of Fife Health Board.

Malcolm Chisholm: My and myself intend to meet with representatives of all NHS Boards in Scotland in January. In addition, the Chief Executive and officials of the Health Department maintain frequent contact with representatives of Fife NHS Board, with the next meeting scheduled for January 2002.

Health

Shona Robison (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is holding talks with drug manufacturers in order to find a strategy that would enable beta interferon to be obtained for patients in Scotland on the NHS and what progress has been made in any such talks.

Malcolm Chisholm: Along with the Department of Health and the National Assembly for Wales, the Executive is taking part in discussions with the drug manufacturers to consider a range of options under which drugs for multiple sclerosis might be available on the NHS. One option is a "risk sharing" scheme, and until these discussions, which are at an early stage, are concluded detailed information cannot be provided.

Health

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria it uses in deciding whether to recommend the prescription of particular pharmaceutical products on the NHS.

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what appeals process against its decisions on the approval of medical products is in place.

Malcolm Chisholm: When a medicine receives a UK marketing authorisation, either from the Medicines Control Agency or the European Medicines Evaluation Authority, it becomes prescribable on the NHS unless it is added to Schedule 10, or in certain circumstances, Schedule 11 to the NHS (General Medical Services)(Scotland) Regulations 1995, which regulate the terms on which doctors provide general medical services under the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978. Amendments to Schedules 10 and 11 are made by Statutory Instrument.

Health

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive when a decision on whether beta interferon should be available on prescription will be made.

Malcolm Chisholm: Beta interferon is available on NHS prescription and its use depends on the clinical judgement of the specialist concerned, informed by advice and evidence about its use.

  The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) and the Health Technology Board for Scotland (HTBS) are preparing advice for health professionals on the clinical and cost-effectiveness of beta interferon. In the case of the HTBS, their advice will be based on the NICE guidance but providing a Scottish view. NICE expect to be able to issue definitive advice later this month.

Health Boards

Paul Martin (Glasgow Springburn) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures are being taken in order to make health boards more open and accountable.

Malcolm Chisholm: The 15 new NHS Boards, established on 30 September 2001, have brought together and simplified the governance and accountability arrangements of 43 separate health boards and Trusts. The new boards provide – in each local area – a single, identifiable forum for the strategic leadership and direction of all NHS services.

  NHS Boards are built on partnership between the NHS and local communities. They meet in public and bring all stakeholders in the local NHS around a single table. Members of NHS Boards now include clinicians, staff, "lay" members and councillors from each of Scotland’s 32 local authorities.

  Clearer, shared accountability to the Scottish Executive and Parliament will be underpinned by a new Performance Assessment Framework, which will provide a consistent, comprehensive and systematic approach to measuring performance right across NHSScotland. The results of the annual assessment of each NHS Board will be made public.

Justice

Mr Frank McAveety (Glasgow Shettleston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions have taken place on addressing the issue of the sex industry in Glasgow.

Mr Jim Wallace: Other than the meeting between Mr McAveety and Iain Gray in May on prostitution in the Glasgow Green area, I am not aware of any other discussions that have taken place within the Executive on the sex industry in Glasgow.

Justice

Scott Barrie (Dunfermline West) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will announce its further proposals for improving the criminal justice system.

Mr Jim Wallace: We will publish today a White Paper, Making Scotland Safer: Improving the Criminal Justice System covering proposals across a broad range of criminal justice matters. These include provisions to strengthen the use of community-based disposals, including restriction of liberty orders, Drug Treatment and Testing Orders and Supervised Attendance Orders; proposals for clarifying the law on the physical punishment of children; new powers to improve the information available to courts in relation to the sentencing of sex offenders; proposals for the setting up of 16 to 17-year-old youth crime pilots and our intent to provide a legislative base to underpin key elements of the Scottish Strategy for Victims .

  Along with the new arrangements for the treatment of serious violent and sexual offenders announced in June 2001, the proposals in Making Scotland Safer will make up a Criminal Justice Bill which we intend to introduce in early 2002.

  Copies of the White Paper will be made available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 18027).

Less Favoured Areas

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to consult crofters and farmers about the implementation of a new Less Favoured Areas Support Scheme.

Ross Finnie: The Scottish Executive consulted widely on support for farming in Scotland’s less favoured areas when the scheme was initially introduced. It has also been working closely with the Industry Working Group in amending the scheme for 2002. Any future changes will be made in the light of advice from the Industry Working Group and will be based on the Forward Strategy for Scottish Agriculture , on which there was a wide consultation. A decision on whether it is necessary to consult more widely on any new scheme will be taken in due course.

Less Favoured Areas

Mr David Davidson (North-East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made to Her Majesty’s Government and the European Commission to obtain full less favoured areas support to Aberdeenshire hill farmers.

Ross Finnie: I announced improvements to the Less Favoured Areas Support Scheme for 2002 on 29 November. These were achieved following detailed discussions with the European Commission, supported by the UK Government and industry representatives. The measures help farmers in all parts of Scotland’s less favoured areas.

Libraries

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what targets have been set for local authorities in respect of their library book provision.

Dr Elaine Murray: Statutory responsibility for local libraries lies solely with local authorities. In Scotland, standards for public library services were introduced by COSLA in 1986 and revised in 1995. Under these standards the target for the lending of adult books is 280 items per thousand population, and for children’s books 100 items per thousand population.

Libraries

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to encourage more use of public library facilities.

Dr Elaine Murray: Statutory responsibility for local libraries lies solely with local authorities. The Executive is funding the Scottish Library and Information Council with £110,000 in 2001-02. £11.5 million is available through the New Opportunities Fund for the Public Library Network to link all public libraries to the internet.

Lifelong Learning

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive which learning providers in Stirling and Clackmannanshire have been recipients of Individual Learning Account payments in each of the last two years.

Ms Wendy Alexander: The following learning providers based in Stirling and Clackmannanshire have been recipients of Individual Learning Account payments in each of the last two years:

  2000-01

  Clackmannan College

  Clackmannanshire Council Training Unit

  Ezee-IT Ltd.

  Gartmore House Computer Training

  Horton Grange (Scotland) Ltd.

  JHP Training (Stirling)

  Learning IT Ltd.

  Vocational Portfolio Development

  Volunteer Development Scotland

  2001-02

  Central Training Services Ltd.

  Clackmannan College

  Clackmannanshire Council Training Unit

  Ezee-IT Ltd.

  Freight Transport Association

  Gartmore House Computer Training

  Horton Grange (Scotland) Ltd.

  Inversnaid Photography Centre

  Learning IT Ltd.

  Mari Group Ltd.(Scotland Division)

  Online University

  Safelift Training

  Vocational Portfolio Development

  Volunteer Development Scotland.

Lifelong Learning

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the total value was of Individual Learning Account payments to learning providers in Stirling and Clackmannanshire in each of the last two years.

Ms Wendy Alexander: The total of Individual Learning Account payments to learning providers in Stirling and Clackmannanshire in each of the last two years is as follows:

  2000-01: £17,004

  2001-02: £269,662

Lifelong Learning

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to its news release SE4920/2001 of 23 November 2001, which learning providers in Stirling and Clackmannanshire have had Individual Learning Account payments to them suspended.

Ms Wendy Alexander: The temporary suspension is a blanket one, affecting all learning providers with current claims in the system.

Local Government Finance

Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is planning to take in order to improve the financial resources available to Glasgow City Council for tackling poverty and deprivation.

Iain Gray: Over this three-year settlement period (2001-02 to 2003-04) we are allocating record levels of grant to Glasgow City Council: £895 million, £958 million and £1,004 million respectively. We are increasing Glasgow’s capital allocation by 38% to £40 million by 2003-04. In addition, we have allocated £27 million from the Better Neighbourhood Services Fund and ministers are currently reviewing Glasgow’s proposals for spending the first year’s allocation. Over the same period, Glasgow will also receive approximately £71 million for the 13 Social Inclusion Partnerships within its area.

Ministerial Meetings

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when the Minister for Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning last met her counterpart in the National Assembly for Wales.

Ms Wendy Alexander: I last met the Welsh First Minister, who is my counterpart for industry matters in the National Assembly for Wales, on the 25 October 2001.

Nursing

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what priorities it has set in respect of recruiting and training nurse specialists in the NHS in Scotland.

Malcolm Chisholm: A specialist nurse is defined as a person who has successfully completed a post qualification course of study in a specific clinical field and who applies higher levels of judgement, discretion and decision-making in clinical care in order to improve the quality of patient care, meeting the needs of patients within the speciality and in the specific area of practice.

  In practice many specialist nurse roles have developed in order to improve the quality of health promotion and care to patients with particular diseases such as, for example, specialist nurses for diabetic patients, and for patients requiring palliative care, pain control, infection control or those with breast cancer.

  Recruitment and training of specialist nurses is primarily a matter for individual NHS Trusts to determine in light of the clinical needs and service developments of their area.

Prison Service

Colin Campbell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-18619 by Mr Jim Wallace on 11 October 2001, what future needs are being considered by the Scottish Prison Service in its review of its computerised prisoner records system; how comprehensive the biographical information held on this system will be, and whether the records will include sufficient background information to assist rehabilitation.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  Additional functionality currently under consideration for the Prisoner Records system may contain data on individual prisoners progress in programmes and interventions, as well as information in terms of initial needs assessments but the details have still to be determined.

Road Accidents

Mr David Davidson (North-East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it plans to take to reduce the number of road accidents resulting in deaths in the Grampian police area.

Lewis Macdonald: The Scottish Executive is committed to working towards GB casualty reduction targets for 2010, one of the aims of which is to reduce the number of people killed and seriously injured by 40% against the average for the years 1994-98. As part of this strategy the Executive’s Accident Investigation and Prevention Unit will continue to develop a programme of engineering measures to address specific accident types at locations on trunk roads identified by the annual interrogation of the accident database. It will also be examining, in the light of recent research, what other general measures may be taken on the trunk road network to improve safety.

  In addition, the Executive, as trunk road authority, is participating with Grampian Police, local authorities and other interested parties within the Grampian Police area to develop a safety camera cost recovery scheme in line with Department of Transport, Local Government and the Regions’ requirements.

Road Safety

Karen Whitefield (Airdrie and Shotts) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what initiatives are being taken to tackle drink-driving during the festive season.

Lewis Macdonald: The Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland is conducting an enforcement campaign, focussing on drink-driving, from 10 December to 7 January. The Scottish Road Safety Campaign has arranged complementary publicity. Research, commissioned by the Scottish Road Safety Campaign and published by the Executive on 10 December, found that young male drivers are the key risk group. Publicity during the festive safety campaign is therefore being targeted at this group.

Roads

Andrew Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, with regard to paragraph 2.37 of Audit Scotland’s The new trunk road contracts , what specific difficulties in fully meeting operational requirements Amey Highways Ltd and BEAR (Scotland) Ltd have each experienced and what remedial action in respect of each difficulty has been taken to date by (a) it and (b) the contractor.

Andrew Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, with regard to paragraph 2.37 of Audit Scotland’s The new trunk road contracts , what specific resources (a) Amey Highways Ltd and (b) BEAR (Scotland) Ltd have lacked "for full operations in some areas" and what remedial action has been taken to date by (i) it and (ii) the contractor in respect of each such lack of resources.

Andrew Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, with regard to paragraph 2.40 of Audit Scotland’s The new trunk road contracts of November 2001, (a) what problems were identified, (b) which such problems remain unresolved and (c) whether its Development Department (i) is confident that improvements are being made and (ii) expects to see the delivery of better value for money in respect of the quality of service provided by (1) Amey Highways Ltd and (2) BEAR Scotland Ltd.

Lewis Macdonald: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-20533 on 29 November 2001, in response to publication of the Auditor General’s report.

Schools

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive when the Minister for Education and Young People will next meet representatives of the Scottish School Board Association.

Cathy Jamieson: I have no current plans to meet representatives of the Scottish School Board Association but I will try for a suitable opportunity in the future.

Schools

Mr David Davidson (North-East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what proposals it intends to make regarding support for rural schools in Aberdeenshire.

Nicol Stephen: All our policies for schools are directed towards ensuring that all children in rural areas benefit from school provision of the highest quality. It is, however, for Aberdeenshire Council to consider what specific measures may be needed to support schools in its area.

Schools

Mr David Davidson (North-East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what proposals it intends to make regarding the refurbishment of rural schools in Aberdeenshire.

Nicol Stephen: Aberdeenshire Council is responsible for proposals for the refurbishment of schools in its area. The Scottish Executive makes substantial resources available to all authorities to help them take forward their school building programmes, including allocations of consent to incur capital expenditure, the New Deal for Schools capital grant, the School Buildings Improvement Fund capital grant, and support for school Public/Private Partnership projects. Following Jack McConnell’s meeting with council leaders on 31 October we are taking forward with COSLA the establishment of a group to deliver a long-term school building investment strategy.

Scottish Environment Protection Agency

John Farquhar Munro (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to maintain the regional structure of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency.

Allan Wilson: This is a matter for the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA). SEPA abolished its Regional Management Structure on 1 April 2001, but intends to retain all of its 22 local offices. The three regional boards, established under statute, remain in being.

Scottish Environment Protection Agency

John Farquhar Munro (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to alter the status of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency’s chemistry laboratory in Dingwall.

Allan Wilson: This is an operational matter for the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA). The Scottish Executive is not responsible for determining the status of SEPA’s laboratories.

Scottish Environment Protection Agency

John Farquhar Munro (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to alter the workload of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency’s chemistry laboratory in Dingwall.

Allan Wilson: This is a matter for the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA). The Executive does not decide the distribution of work amongst SEPA’s laboratories.

Scottish Executive Publications

Mr Keith Harding (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost was of publishing, printing and distributing the Scottish Executive’s  Annual Report on Drug Misuse.

Dr Richard Simpson: The Annual Report on Drug Misuse cost £2,366 to publish, £4,373 to print, and £2,173 to distribute, giving an overall cost of £8,912.

Title Conditions (Scotland) Bill

Mr David Davidson (North-East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what regulatory procedures will be contained in the Title Conditions (Scotland) Bill.

Dr Richard Simpson: The Title Conditions (Scotland) Bill will codify and reform the rules governing the constitution, validity and enforcement of non-feudal real burdens on property which will remain following abolition of the feudal system. Real burdens are conditions and restrictions on the use of land which are imposed in title deeds when land is sold. They are therefore used as a means of the private regulation of land. This contrasts with the public regulation of land contained in planning and environmental legislation.

  The Bill will not impose any specific regulatory procedures.

Transport

Brian Adam (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in developing a western peripheral route around Aberdeen.

Lewis Macdonald: Considerable progress has been made on the Modern Transport System proposals for the North East, of which the proposal for a Western Peripheral route is a part. Among other developments, the Executive is funding the development and extension of the Transport Model for Scotland to include the North east.

Transport

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made towards the implementation of the proposed Modern Transport System for the north east of Scotland.

Lewis Macdonald: Considerable progress has been made on the Modern Transport System proposals, which have been developed by the local authorities and other partners to the regional transport partnership (NESTRANS). The Executive is working with the partners on a number of proposals, and is funding the development and extension of the Transport Model for Scotland to include the North East.

Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body

The Parliament

Bristow Muldoon (Livingston) (Lab): To ask the Presiding Officer how much public funding the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) made available to (a) the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party; (b) the Scottish National Party; (c) the Scottish Green Party, and (d) the Scottish Socialist Party as a result of their representation in the Parliament in 1999-2000 and 2000-01 and how much each party will receive from the SPCB in 2001-02 and 2002-03.

Sir David Steel: In 1999-2000 and 2000-01 the parties were entitled to claim the following amounts:

  

 

1999-2000 
  

2000-01 
  



Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party 
  

£90,000 
  

£97,470 
  



Scottish National Party 
  

£175,000 
  

£179,550 
  



Scottish Green Party 
  

£5,000 
  

£5,130 
  



Scottish Socialist Party 
  

£5,000 
  

£5,130 
  



  As required under the Scottish Parliament (Financial Assistance for Registered Political Parties) Order 1999 (passed by the Westminster Parliament), funding for the qualifying political parties is calculated on a relevant amount for a period multiplied by the number of members of the Parliament who are connected with that party. The relevant amount this current financial year is £5,248. Based on the existing membership of the respective parties in the Parliament, each party is entitled to claim up to the following maximum amounts for 2001-02:

  

 

2001-02 
  



Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party 
  

£99,712 
  



Scottish National Party 
  

£183,680 
  



Scottish Green Party 
  

£5,248 
  



Scottish Socialist Party 
  

£5,248 
  



  In 2002-03 the maximum amount which the respective parties are entitled to claim will be the calculation of £5,248 uprated by the retail price index for March 2002 for each member associated with that party in the Parliament.

  Payments are only made when the relevant parties submit a claim. Under the Order each qualifying political party must provide an independent audit certificate of all claims made for financial assistance at the end of each financial year.